Sure Hillary is set for the Dems but you never know if someone else could surprise her like Obama did in '08. There are a number of sleeper Dems who have potential but they won't have any money...perhaps.

On the GOP side you have a bunch of Tea Party crack pots raising a lot of money but who don't have a chance in hell, that guy from NJ who could have some splaining and a few young guns who have potential but can't seem to find their voice... ironically in a party founded on the idea of the strength of the individual.

And Tea Party "crackpots." Such a country. We get multi-trillions in debt, suck our freedoms down the a-hole of oppressive and incompetent government, and reduce our issues to sexual
"preference, pot-heads, and crackpots.

No wonder cretins and midgets like Putin and puppet-masters like China scare us.

it should be about POT ! and that's NO JOKE
the stigma and Brainwashing and Hippy Bashing must end!

the war on weed and subsequent prohibition has been a miserable
waste of tax payers dollars for more than a half century (trillion dollars)
based on false evidence that cannabis had NO medical applications

so it was scheduled a " 1" classification by Aslinger president Nixons az-hole
who was ORDERED to IGNORE the REPORT that Nixon ordered
which showed that it indeed has terrific medical properties.

This is the ONLY plant KNOWN to contain cannabinoids that
change a baby from having 300 seizures a day to NONE overnight.

Our own Body produces this substance and it is what controls
communication between Brain cells and to give it an analogy
it's like the spark that jumps the gap on a spark plug's electrode.

The Alcohol Industry and the Paper Industry
and also the pharmaceutical industry have
had a strangle hold on this nations throat for long enough.

ANY Farmer who wants to grow HEMP for fiber & seeds should
be allowed to do so as it's a VERY profitable crop with zero THC
in the end product that has absolutely nothing to do with drugs.

And Tea Party "crackpots." Such a country. We get multi-trillions in debt, suck our freedoms down the a-hole of oppressive and incompetent government, and reduce our issues to sexual
"preference, pot-heads, and crackpots.

Yep.

Quote:

No wonder cretins and midgets like Putin and puppet-masters like China scare us.

Spence, you slay me.. my comment was going to be " Pot and gays"... its all about pot and gays now.. distract from the real issues of course.

I want John Stewart to run and I want his cabinet to be his script writers.

OUCH.....

'Mr. Stewart is among the lowest forms of intellectual parasite in the political universe, with no particular insights or interesting ideas of his own, reliant upon the very broadest and least clever sort of humor, using ancient editing techniques to make clumsy or silly political statements sound worse than they are and then pantomiming outrage at the results, the lowbrow version of James Joyce giving the hero of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man the unlikely name of Stephen Dedalus and then having other characters in the novel muse upon the unlikelihood of that name. His shtick is a fundamentally cowardly one, playing the sanctimonious vox populi when it suits him, and then beating retreat into “Hey, I’m just a comedian!” when he faces a serious challenge. It is the sort of thing that you can see appealing to bright, politically engaged 17-year-olds."

"Mr. Stewart is the leading voice of the half-bright Left because he is a master practitioner of the art of half-bright vitriolic denunciation. His intellectual biography is that of a consummate lightweight — a William and Mary frat boy who majored in psychology, which must have been a disappointment to his father, a professor of physics — and his comedy career has been strictly by-the-numbers, from the early days on the New York City comedy-club scene to changing his name (Mr. Stewart began life as Mr. Leibowitz) and a career-boosting stint on MTV, where he was second only to Beavis and Butt-Head in the ratings. He subsequently may have matched Beavis and Butt-Head’s popularity, but he has never risen to comparable heights of social insight."

'Mr. Stewart is among the lowest forms of intellectual parasite in the political universe, with no particular insights or interesting ideas of his own, reliant upon the very broadest and least clever sort of humor, using ancient editing techniques to make clumsy or silly political statements sound worse than they are and then pantomiming outrage at the results, the lowbrow version of James Joyce giving the hero of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man the unlikely name of Stephen Dedalus and then having other characters in the novel muse upon the unlikelihood of that name. His shtick is a fundamentally cowardly one, playing the sanctimonious vox populi when it suits him, and then beating retreat into “Hey, I’m just a comedian!” when he faces a serious challenge. It is the sort of thing that you can see appealing to bright, politically engaged 17-year-olds."

"Mr. Stewart is the leading voice of the half-bright Left because he is a master practitioner of the art of half-bright vitriolic denunciation. His intellectual biography is that of a consummate lightweight — a William and Mary frat boy who majored in psychology, which must have been a disappointment to his father, a professor of physics — and his comedy career has been strictly by-the-numbers, from the early days on the New York City comedy-club scene to changing his name (Mr. Stewart began life as Mr. Leibowitz) and a career-boosting stint on MTV, where he was second only to Beavis and Butt-Head in the ratings. He subsequently may have matched Beavis and Butt-Head’s popularity, but he has never risen to comparable heights of social insight."

Lets just hope that whoever it is can speak some shred of truth and be held accountable for his/her mistakes and lies.
It doesn't matter who runs as long as the public at large are misinformed .
Sad when the party for the " working people " rely on those that don't to keep them I'm office .
Their chickens are coming home to roost.Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I remember when I was a freshman in high school, barely. We had to find people to run for class officers we were told. I looked at a buddy of mine, his nickname was pig. I said (blank) should run. Nobody objected. Well pig for president became the hue and cry of the majority of the freshman, because the "pig" was elected. It wasn't ridicule to do what we did, but it was prophetic, and afterall it was 1965. It was easy as one, two, three. Deval Patrick says no, but he is really saying yes, trying to push Hillary politely aside by riding on Air Force One with President shuck and jive, who is more akin to an educated street urchin that woke up one day living in the White House. Everytime he walks to the podium he has the accentuated shoulder fade from right to left then back to center. Who we put into the White House gets worse and worse every fours years from my perspective, democrat or republican, and I dont see any change compentency-wise coming anytime in the near future. The whole political process is just as absurd as getting "pig" elected president of our freshman class in high school.Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

The big picture is created by details. Looking at the big picture is an inspection of those details. By dismissing or overlooking details, the big picture is not much better than a lie.

And when details are misrepresented, twisted, contorted into lies, than the big picture is full lf lies.

And when the big picture is a concoction of details that intentionally paint a picture that doesn't or didn't exist, it is a fiction.

And when the fiction is made, not to amuse or entertain, but to persuade, it IS a lie.

And if the picture, the information on which we must vote, is a lie. then we are not only looking through a glass darkly, we are swindled into voting against ourselves. We are manipulated into our own societal demise.

How many Americans died in American embassies when bush was president?
Speaking of the big lie. How is the search for weapons of mass distraction going?
The GOP is grasping at Benghazi like it's the knot at the end of their rope.Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

How many Americans died in American embassies when bush was president?

There were several attacks on embassies under Bush's watch. Several people were killed, but the internet searches I made, other than a couple of left wing blogs, didn't claim any of them were Americans. Several said no Americans were killed. But that's beside the point. There were no cover-ups or lies about those embassy attacks. Why the Obama administration lied about Benhazi is the question more than who died. And could something have been done to prevent those deaths?

Speaking of the big lie. How is the search for weapons of mass distraction going?

There is no evidence that Bush intentionally lied. There is solid evidence that Obama administration knew the story they fabricated was not true. Besides, check with Spence. I'm sure he'll tell you the Bush stuff is old news. Talk about ZZZZZZZZZZZZ tiresome--geese, were still on the Bush did it crap. And that, true or mostly untrue, is supposed to make it OK for Obama to lie? That's goofy. What difference, at this point, does Bush make?!?

The GOP is grasping at Benghazi like it's the knot at the end of their rope.Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Or, the Dems are desperately trying to keep the knot from tightening around their neck. But it's not sticking, anyway, so don't be so concerned about it.

Seriously, the big government lie is to be condemned no matter who it is that tells it. No? Deflecting by pointing to the other guy just gets us further along a path to our own subjugation.

You forgot to add how coming from Chicago and Arkansas she claimed
having always been a Yankee fan since a kid when running for NY Senate,yes and all that sniper fire she endured and how she will be remembered for
pushing the infamous Re Set Button as Secretary of State.

I've never even met you and you're one of the smartest people I know and it blows my mind you could even question where those weapons came from and then subsequently went.

And what really kills me is the US is cleaning this mess up on taxpayer dollars.Replace the N in UN with an S and that's where the $ comes from.

Awe.. thanks Basswipe. Sure.. Saddam trucked it all out before we got there... but my point is that the whole weapons of mass destruction fiasco was nothing more than a coined term to push a crooked agenda. I forget the phrase that Himmler used to justify the Nazi conquest, but it goes something like " People will never catch on to your big lie if you feed them a bunch of little lies to distract them"..

Sure Democrats are not perfect and i am sure that as i get older i will follow winston churchill's advice- that when you are young, you are a liberal because you have a heart.. but as you get older you become a conservative because you have a brain.. That said, my brain catches a lot of BS on both sides. More so with the GOP....

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

And to end my rant.. fueled by Dales Pale Ale..... We are all duped by the greatest of the big lies.. that YOUR party represents YOU.. BS... Both parties represent Corporations first and foremost. This country has never been more divided politically, which in my opinion has been created by corporate owned media ( cable news networks). We are so distracted by proving which party is better that the Corporations, the 1% and who ever is really pulling the strings are laughing themselves to the bank.

Republicans and Democrats..are all bought and paid for. Corruption in the form of political donations and favors by lobbyists.

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945[/QUOTE]

Great quote. And this is what I was getting at when I responded to your post about the big picture. And I certainly wasn't talking about Democrat/Republican, but the big picture full of lies--regardless of which party is telling the lies. And it is this big picture, created by political spin (lies) and media complicity or stupidity that is presented to us as the basis on which we vote. The vote is our most powerful weapon against our subjugation by the State. And if we are too busy, or too loyal to a party to seek the truth, and vote on the basis of the big picture constantly spun before our eyes, we become complicit in our own devolution into tyranny.

Both major parties practice their own brand of propaganda. I think the progressives have mastered spin technique having used it and honed it for nearly a hundred years. I think they're so good at it that they fool themselves. The Republicans are catching up, in order to survive--so that the ultimate difference between the two is shrinking. The Nazi political machine was an ultimate master of the big lie, topped, probably by the Soviets. Despots learn from each other. Our modern American despots have learned how to soften the message and the technique of rule in order to appeal to a more diverse populace. It would be impossible to make their message appeal to all the different factions, so, as Goebbels said, it is necessary to lie, and to suppress dissent. And to repeat the lies often enough so that they will be believed.

Alinsky had some good tips on suppressing dissent, including ridicule. It is such a common practice now to ridicule or demonize those who don't follow party lines, and most people have been politically and historically dumbed down to believe the lies, that the ridicule is perceived, instantly without question as being true. There are few great discussions on issues, policies, our form of government, which go beyond peremptory clichés to the true heart of the matter, for, as Goebbels said, truth is the mortal enemy of lies and so the greatest enemy of the State.

Through this long process of spin/lies/propaganda to which we have been subjected for a century, we have been transformed from a republic which depended on a free, independent, virtuous, and diverse people with virtuous leaders to a State using the big lie to persuade us that we are dependent on it; and when it says diversity it really intends uniformity; and when it says liberty it means direction by and permission of the State.

Like all the post-imperial despots, our modern guys are truly, or so they started, desirous of making life better for all, and must be authoritarian for the good of all. The masses are not capable enough, or smart enough, or in many, if not most cases, too ignorant to rule themselves. And the contemporary ruling class is composed of those few who are blessed with the wisdom, intelligence, competence (or they took the right courses) to prescribe how the rest of us live.

They are a new hybrid of oligarchy which requires our complacence and admiration, as well as acquiescence.

So when various "kooks," "crackpots," "extremists," "racists," etc., are so labeled, such as Tea Partiers, become too influential in exposing the lies and failures of our ruling class, they are ridiculed with those labels. And there needs to be no discussion about the truth of the matter. They become an enemy of the State.

And to end my rant.. fueled by Dales Pale Ale..... We are all duped by the greatest of the big lies.. that YOUR party represents YOU.. BS... Both parties represent Corporations first and foremost. This country has never been more divided politically, which in my opinion has been created by corporate owned media ( cable news networks). We are so distracted by proving which party is better that the Corporations, the 1% and who ever is really pulling the strings are laughing themselves to the bank.

Republicans and Democrats..are all bought and paid for. Corruption in the form of political donations and favors by lobbyists.

burp.

The growth in size and influence of corporations has been mirrored by that of the Federal government. They pretty much go hand in hand. It's difficult at times to know which drives who. But the ball mostly got rolling initially by government (with good intentions, of course). The rise of large corporations in the latter part of the 19th century was of two classes. There was the class of corporation that grew in size and wealth by competition. This was the class which was successful and had staying power. Members of this class were too successful for those whom it outclassed. They were mistakenly labeled "robber barons." The other class was fueled by government subsidy and regulation.

The so-called "robber barons" were not without fault, and benefited by some regulation, but they were mostly regulated against rather than for. They actually created the great surge of economic power which fueled America's rise as a force of world power. Their efforts had tremendous impact also on the rise in American's standard of living. But they were so well managed by sound economic principles and business innovation that it simply wasn't fair to others who couldn't keep up.

The other class of corporations needed government intervention on their behalf as well as government subsidies. Even with that they were not ultimately successful, and fell into the dust bin of forgotten history, except for some hangers on such as railroads which could not exist, as they are, without government subsidy. But that nexus between government and corporations, as well, eventually, between government and everything and everyone else, was maintained and flourishes now as crony capitalism and cradle to grave programs for everyone else (social and corporate welfare). Burton Folsom's book "The Myth of the Robber Barons" is a good read on the subject.

The "robber barons" were portrayed by journalists and activists of a social justice stripe as greedy self-serving rapists of society. In actuality, though they were sticklers for profit, they were generous to society not only in the wealth they created and spread, but as well by their private charitable contributions and foundations. They also funded libraries and educational institutions as well a many other things.

Being a freer country then, it was easier (though not easy) for entrepreneurs to create, compete, and contribute, than it is today. The connection with government is absolutely necessary to achieve the size and scope of the modern corporation. It may seem that corporations own the government, but government ultimately has the upper hand. The Federal Government has been loosed from its old constitutional limitations, and so long as it can convince the mass of voters that it acts in their interest, and that it will make those one percenters and the lesser "wealthy" pay "their fair share," it can wield too much power for corporations to do much other than lobby. So the pay-offs go both ways: corporations to government, and government favors (regulations/crony capitalism) to corporations. In the meantime, even though the government is supposedly working for the little guy, the income gap widens. One of those little details in the big picture that we should overlook. The big lie has it covered.

The system has evolved from a bottom up republic to a centralized top down fairly unitary State. The centralization of influence, economic and political, especially political, has grown and emerged into a symbiotic relationship. The so-called middle class is shrinking as power and money shifts to the top and those at the bottom are subsidized into dependence. As Spence would say, it has all become interwoven.

And we are told it is for our own good . No need to rant. That would be considered extreme. Enjoy your Dale's Pale. This is the best of all possible worlds. And if you see a crackpot Tea Partier passing by, give him the finger or throw the empty bottle in his direction.

The growth in size and influence of corporations has been mirrored by that of the Federal government. They pretty much go hand in hand. It's difficult at times to know which drives who. But the ball mostly got rolling initially by government (with good intentions, of course).

And we are told it is for our own good . No need to rant. That would be considered extreme. Enjoy your Dale's Pale. This is the best of all possible worlds. And if you see a crackpot Tea Partier passing by, give him the finger or throw the empty bottle in his direction.

"In the elite view the problem is the people. We should dissolve the people and elect another.

Of course. Liberals believe that the only way for their kind -- the creative, educated, evolved kind -- to make the world a better place is for the middle class to be defeated. That's certainly what the liberals in Fred Siegel's Revolt Against the Masses all seem to think.

But suppose the opposite is true, that the problem is not the people but the political elite?

Never mind, say the liberals. We, the creative class, the compassionate class, are needed to come like gods among men to protect the traditionally marginalized from the rape of corporate greed.

But when things go wrong these creative intellectuals, these gods among men, are nowhere to be found.

Oh no, they cry. The backward people are getting lured into nationalism. Oh no! Look at the “growing size of the state” and debt-fueled entitlements! What's wrong with democracy?

What you must not do, liberals, is continue to appeal over the heads of the middle class to the people of the collective self, the people that haven't yet learned the trick of life and work in the city. Someday your grandchildren, if you have any, will admit that every direct appeal of the creative class to the lower orders has ended up a disaster, from special privileges for labor unions to government education to business regulation to entitlements to socialism. Why? Because all these ideas are pre-modern, pre-individualist, and negate the idea of personal responsibility.

You see, liberals, a world without personal responsibility is not a Kumbaya world of fuzzy collective consensus. It is a world wrenched back in time to the rule of the patriarch or its modern derivative, the charismatic lightbringer. In the age of cities, science, markets, commerce, it fails every time it's been tried.

Republicans and Democrats..are all bought and paid for. Corruption in the form of political donations and favors by lobbyists.

burp.

if you truly believe this and what you quoted from Goebbels.... the solution is not to continue to grow the size, scope and cost of government, the solution is to reduce the size, scope and cost of government and return it to it's original and enumerated duties powers and making fewer dependent on it's largess....you should join the Tea Party

... but my point is that the whole weapons of mass destruction fiasco was nothing more than a coined term to push a crooked agenda. ....

I agree...

that was the short list...my favorite...prescient

“The community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now: a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists. If we fail to respond today, Saddam and all those who would follow in his footsteps will be emboldened tomorrow.” — Bill Clinton in 1998